


Insufferable

by WeirdNathan



Series: Chronicles Of A Dumbass [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alphinaud Centric, Angst and Humor, Attempt at Humor, Character Development, Character Study, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Spoilers, Friendship, Gen, Male Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Not Beta Read, Warrior Of Light Is a Dumbass, Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV) is a Mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26984542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdNathan/pseuds/WeirdNathan
Summary: Traveling with Estinien and the Warrior of Light - L'ladhwr - to stop the war between Dragons and Ishigard was interesting, but also had a lot of downtimes, which was a prime time for Alphinaud to watch and figure out who the Hero of Eorzea was. Which might be a bit more of a problem than Alphinaud was ready to handle.Or,Alphinaud thinks L'ladhwr is weird. L'ladhwr is just there to have fun.
Series: Chronicles Of A Dumbass [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969390
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Insufferable

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, the Warrior of Light is my character - L'ladhwr. Here's a photo of him if anyone wants to see: https : // imgur . com / qF2tzfI . jpg

L’ladhwr wouldn’t respond to his full name. That was the first of the many weird things Alphinaud noticed about his small - albeit still taller than him - companion. Watching him hum (or was it purring? Alphinaud wasn’t sure if it was offensive to use that word around miqo’tes, unfortunately, it wasn’t a subject he was well versed in) over the fire, sitting beside Estinien, it was hard to not be surprised by the fact  _ that _ was Hydelyn’s Champion - the Warrior of Light. Had Alphinaud not watched the Miqo’te cut through enemies, again and again, he would doubt it himself.

He was short - the shortest adult miqo’te he ever knew. His face was very young but sharp and thin. His skin was slightly tanned with the sun, fluffy brown hair, lime green  _ big and round _ eyes that made him look  _ cute _ of all things. His ears had small black dots, and his fluffy brown tail had a black cloth around the end that “helped him keep his balance”, as L’ladhwr said. This cute small boy - man - looked even weirder when Alphinaud looked at weapon and clothing choices. He had a greatsword, that was taller than the man himself, laid on the ground, behind him. Such a big sword required a lot of strength to just move - Alphinaud hadn’t tried it yet, not wanting to be embarrassed by falling onto his rear while trying to lift it - and as such, wasn’t a great  _ agile _ weapon… But, even though that meant the person wielding it should be still, and therefore vulnerable, L’ladhwr didn’t have as much as a piece of metal armor over him. He wore a simple button-up shirt, a very big and loose one, with trinkets and laces all over it, black  _ shorts _ over a gray pair of pants, and black leather boots. Overall, a great adventurer outfit, but not so much a “warrior” outfit.

Or well, it wouldn't be a warrior outfit, had Alphinaud not seen L’ladhwr jump, dash, and run around the battlefield like a hyperactive ground squirrel.

That was another weird thing about him - but Alphinaud was getting ahead of himself. At the moment, he was watching the man, trying to solve the weird puzzle in front of him: Why L’ladhwr rarely - if ever - answered to his full name. He would answer “Hero” more often than his name. That was easily fixed by using the name he often introduced himself with: Lad. But the problem was that… Well, while Alisaie would use it with no problem, after his help with the Bahamut’s situation, for Alphinaud… It seemed a bit silly. He had a name, it was just proper to use it, but… Frustrating.

“L’ladhwr, would you like to take the first or last turn during the night?” Alphinaud tested - asking about their vigil turns. While their camp choice in Dravanian Hinterlands was a very safe point, the three of them would still need to keep someone as a lookout for any dragon that might be interested in an easy midnight snack. The task to deal with Hraesvelgr and Nidhogg broods was still ongoing, unfortunately. “I will take the middle one, of course.”

Estinien looked up from the fire to him, lips curling in a sneer, but L’ladhwr seemed lost in his world, humming away. Alphinaud sighed and cleared his throat, to which the man looked up, interested. 

“Oh, sorry. Were you talking? I was thinking about  _ stuff _ .” The Miqo’te said, emphatically.

“Yes. I was asking which turn of the lookout you would like to take.” Alphinaud repeated himself, trying to mask his annoyance with his very well-groomed manners.

“Oh. I’ll take the middle one then?” L’ladhwr offered himself, smiling wide.

“I would rather not- the last thing we need is you not feeling well-rested tomorrow.” Alphinaud pointed out.

“Ya. But three hours should be enough for me! So that’s fine.” The way L’ladhwr said that was like he thought that this was obvious.

“Since you two are squabbling about it, how about the young one take the first turn, I’ll take the middle one, and you take the last one?” Estinien offered. L’ladhwr’s nose scrunched as he thought about it.

“You sure? The middle one is sucky ya’ know. Alphie can’t take it ‘cause he’s a pup in nappies but I’m fine with it.”

Alphinaud flushed at this. “I’m not a… a pup!”

“Sure not.” L’ladhwr’s hands shot up, as a sign of peace. “But you are not used to it. And I don’t think now is the time to teach someone about how to deal with travelin’ stuff.” 

“I agree with Lad on this one.” Estinien, the traitor, said. Alphinaud cheeks flushed even harder.

“So that’s two against one! Alphie takes the first round!” L’ladhwr laughed. “Now, I need to go, take care of nature’s call. See ya’ later.”

And like that, the miqo’te got up his sitting position, holding his sword and putting it on the magnetic looks on his back, before strolling away.

“I could do it,” Alphinaud muttered under his breath. Honestly, sometimes L’ladhwr could be. Insufferable.

“He knows that,” Estinien said, looking over the fire to catch Alphinaud eyes. “I’m pretty sure.”

“Well, he doesn’t show it,” Alphinaud said, with a huff. He seemed to treat Alphinaud like a child sometimes, like the way he would catch every enemy’s attention to divert them to himself, so Alphinaud wouldn’t be attacked. It  _ was _ useful, but a bit degrading. Of course, it worked for the warrior of light - his fight style kept the monsters focused on him, out of pure frustration.

“Well, then ask him,” Estinien answered, lazily.

That was easier said than done… Or was it? Alphinaud blinked, staring at Estinien like he was from another world. He was trying to figure out this hero - the one he had sent running around, ordering around. The one that seemed amused at Alphinaud’s Crystal Braves (not that the Crystal Braves had been a good idea to start with), but had just smiled and agreed with every demand Alphinaud had made. The one with habits so weird that kept adding on Alphinaud’s notes.

Never once Alphinaud had thought of just “asking” him. A shameful decision on his part.

Alphinaud got up. “I suppose I could do that. Please take care of the camp in the meantime, Ser Estinien.” He said, pompously, before turning around and following the way that L’ladhwr had gone to  _ deal with nature. _ He didn’t walk until he found the man, of course, just far enough the small elezen couldn’t see the camp, so L’ladhwr would bump into him when coming back. And then… He waited.

After a couple of minutes, Alphinaud felt…  _ something _ . It was a weird feeling - like someone was watching him. Or something. It was a weird cold sensation on the back of his head, that went down his spine and made the hairs on his arms rise. He looked around, nervously, trying to figure out what that was - and praying to whatever gods existed that it wasn’t a dragon. While he  _ could _ fight off a dragon, he would rather  _ not _ do it alone. He did a complete turn, looking around, kinda nervously, there was nothing but trees, bushes, and old pieces of stone - remnants of the old buildings in the area.

“Alphie, whatcha’ lookin’ for?” A voice said on his back. Alphinaud totally did  _ not _ scream like a little girl at this. He did  _ not _ . His cheeks were bright red as he turned, eyes wide to see him, the insufferable warrior of light, smiling knowingly, with a distinctive malicious gleam in his bright green eyes. “Well, that’s… That was better than I… Expected.” The man was able to say while keeping a straight face.

“That wasn’t funny!” Alphinaud said, his voice a bit high pitched. “I… I was distracted!”

“Ya,’ I saw that,” L’ladhwr said, rubbing his left hand on his cheek as if it would stop himself from smiling. “So, I’m gonna ask again. Whatcha’ lookin’ for, Alphie?”

The young elezen opened his mouth because he did come with a purpose. But, as he was trying to speak, he felt himself falter. What was he going to say?  _ Oh, I just wanted to know if you actually trust me _ ? That sounded so… So childish. And at the same time so… Right. After the Crystal Braves, he couldn’t really fault L’ladhwr for not  _ trusting _ him. His eyes fell, and he blushed.

“I just… I just wanted to know why you rarely answer when someone calls you by your full name.” Alphinaud finally said, lamely. It was something he was curious about, but not what he wanted to know. L’ladhwr seemed bewildered at that question.

“You came all the way here to ask me that? Huh. It’s nothin’ special. I just didn’t grow up hearing it a lot. People just called me Lad all the time.” The Miqo’te shrugged at that, tail whipping from one side to the other. That was, or Alphinaud thought, a sign of discomfort.

“No one called you your whole name? Not even your parents?” That was a weird thought. Yes, his parents would more often than not call him by nicknames, but he did get called  _ Alphinaud _ all the time, by his twin sister mostly. And his father, of course.

L’ladhwr let his head fall to the side, watching Alphinaud with unreadable eyes.

“My brother did.” L’ladhwr finally said. “Well, Ladhwr, mostly.”

That was the most informative thing that the Warrior Of Light had said about his home life in the months Alphinaud had known him.

“I didn’t know you had a brother,” Alphinaud said, slowly. He didn’t dare to ask about the other man, as L’ladhwr had used  _ did _ when talking about him. The miqo’te laughed at that, though.

“Ah, I don’t think anyone knows?” He admitted. “Not a lot of socializing was done while trying to destroy primals I’m afraid. Saving the world was more important.” L’ladhwr’s smile was somewhat strained. “His name was Thoru. He was three years older than me.”

_ And he is dead. _ That was pretty much easy to notice. Alphinaud didn’t know what to do, watching the Warrior Of Light with a weird feeling in his stomach. He never thought about the man’s family, but… But he knew L’ladhwr lived alone, he was always sleeping at inns, jumping around helping people deal with their problems, from primals to deliveries. Never once he had taken a moment and disappeared to stay with family or friends. He didn’t have a Free Company - one of those small guilds adventurers created. He was just… Always there, hanging around, close enough to jump and save the day when needed.

“He must have been a good man.” Alphinaud finally said. L’ladhwr seemed to smile in the  _ man _ part, though Alphinaud didn’t know what was funny about that.

“He was, way too good for this world. Way too good...” There it was - L’ladhwr’s laugh. Any outsider wouldn’t notice, but Alphinaud had heard L’ladhwr laugh freely before, and this laugh… It was a menacing, fake, hollow laugh compared with the warm-hot-protective laugh Alphinaud knew.

“Well, if it hurts you, I will stop using ‘L’ladhwr.’” Alphinaud said. Lad moved his hand as if to say  _ don’t worry about it _ .

“It doesn’t hurt me. No worries Alphie. Lad is just easier.” He shrugged, starting to make his way to the campsite, Alphinaud followed him, easily enough. “Anyway, better be back to camp. You did take the first turn, and I’m sure Estinien needs his beauty sleep.”

Alphinaud felt himself choke at those words. They didn’t know if Estinien was  _ pretty _ , and even if they did, he was a warrior.

“I’m sure he needs rest for more important things…” Like fighting, for one.

“Oh, sure, sure, he doesn't. But, I mean, the guy never takes his helmet off, I saw him  _ sleep _ with it. He’s either really ugly or so handsome he’s worried he’ll seduce your little young heart if he takes it off, Alphie.”

Alphinaud choked. Again. As it was custom when Lad went onto those weird tangents of him. “I’m sure he is not ugly- people aren’t really ugly, its just a matter of taste,” Alphinaud said, neutral, trying to ignore his traitor of a brain that was getting  _ curious _ over Estinien  _ appearance _ of all the things.

“Ya’ he sounds too handsome for his own good kinda guy. Yaknow, like an arse?” As he said that, Alphinaud’s eyes found Estinien, who seemed to be walking  _ to _ them. Probably got worried since they took so much time to return. Alphinaud prayed again the older Elezen didn’t hear what Lad had said.

“What sorts of things are you saying about me, huh, Warrior Of Light?”

Of course, he did. Alphinaud felt his face blush embarrassed as Lad  _ yelped _ \- way too theatric to be his real reaction.  


“Are you a ghost or what?! How can you walk so silent with that arm, for fucks’ sake…” Lad said, diverting the attention successfully to Estinien’s abilities of “creepy ghost stalking”, as the miqo’te said.

Fortunately, they would be sleeping soon. With a bit of luck, Alphinaud would forget his embarrassment by the morning (he probably wouldn’t).


End file.
